Apple introduced Apple Arcade, a gaming subscription service focussed on original, creative games from big game studios and indie developers.
Apple Arcade
Apple Arcade will feature over 100 new and exclusive games, including original releases from renowned creators Hironobu Sakaguchi, Ken Wong, Will Wright and dozens more. Apple Arcade games will redefine games and be curated based on originality, quality, creativity, fun and their appeal to players of all ages.
Apple Arcade will give customers the freedom to try any game from its handpicked collection of titles that are all-you-can-play, have no ads, ad tracking or additional purchases, and respect user privacy.
Apple hand picks the games that will be included, but also helps support their development costs and works with the developers. It will launch in fall 2019 in over 150 countries. Pricing will be announced at that time.
Exclusives tend to be what sells platforms (think Mario/Zelda/Pokémon/Smash/etc. on Switch, Halo/Gears of War/Forza/etc. on Xbox, God of War/Uncharted/Horizon/Spider Man/etc. on PlayStation) so it will be interesting to see what Apple brings to the table.
Regarding Ken Wong, Hironobu Sakaguchi, and Will Wright:
Monument Valley may be good, but it’s no Final Fantasy (or The Last Story, for that matter) or SimCity (or Spore, for that matter.)
One of my favorite (non-Sakaguchi) Final Fantasy games, Final Fantasy XIV, actually does run on macOS (at about half the frame rate of the Windows version running under Boot Camp.)
The big question is price. $9.99/mo I’m there with bells on.